TVR novice seeking a few words of wisdom
Discussion
I DRIVE A CRAP CAR - 11yr old Ford Orion!
For 5 years I have considered upgrading to "decent" cars but have always put it off wanting to wait until I could afford a TVR and that time has come.
- I need a car that will be for daily use car(all through winter(rain, ice, snow).
- It would NOT be garaged(all through winter).
- I typically do about 15k miles a year.
Are there people out there that use a Chimaera as their main car and do 15k+ milage a year, all year round in a car that isn't garaged?
Am I being realistic or will I be making a big mistake?
For the record I will be spending about £15k buying a car from an main TVR dealer(probably Fernhurst).
Phil
For 5 years I have considered upgrading to "decent" cars but have always put it off wanting to wait until I could afford a TVR and that time has come.
- I need a car that will be for daily use car(all through winter(rain, ice, snow).
- It would NOT be garaged(all through winter).
- I typically do about 15k miles a year.
Are there people out there that use a Chimaera as their main car and do 15k+ milage a year, all year round in a car that isn't garaged?
Am I being realistic or will I be making a big mistake?
For the record I will be spending about £15k buying a car from an main TVR dealer(probably Fernhurst).
Phil
stalker said:
I DRIVE A CRAP CAR - 11yr old Ford Orion!
Check.
stalker said:
For 5 years I have considered upgrading to "decent" cars but have always put it off wanting to wait until I could afford a TVR and that time has come.
Wise choice Sir
stalker said:
- I need a car that will be for daily use car(all through winter(rain, ice, snow).
No worries - our does the same - just be careful with the loud pedal during the wetter months.
stalker said:
- It would NOT be garaged(all through winter).
No worries - neither is ours - and hasn't been for the last 3.5 years and is still in good nick. Although we are considering an extention which will include a garage.
stalker said:
- I typically do about 15k miles a year.
Err....Check (it's not me posting under a different name is it?
Your Login Name!) No worries on the mileage front. stalker said:
Are there people out there that use a Chimaera as their main car and do 15k+ milage a year, all year round in a car that isn't garaged?
Am I being realistic or will I be making a big mistake?
For the record I will be spending about £15k buying a car from an main TVR dealer(probably Fernhurst).
Phil
Definately realistic the more you use it the better it will be, running it won't be too cheap but what the hell eh?
Oh and just to finish the similarities, ours came from Fernhurst anf it'll be a long time before I go anywhere else for TVR related things, thos guys there are ace.
You local Hants person?
I use my 450 as my only car. It is very rarely garaged so generally sits out in all weathers. I do 15k -20k a year easily (and not fun stuff either - m25 and a3 traffic jams). I think you'll find from most drivers here that the regular users have the fewest problems with their cars.
As I am sure many others will tell you, you just need to be careful with the juice pedal in the wet.
Just do it
PS - I got mine from Fernies as well, and they could not be more helpful & friendly.
>> Edited by soapbox on Wednesday 20th October 14:34
As I am sure many others will tell you, you just need to be careful with the juice pedal in the wet.
Just do it
PS - I got mine from Fernies as well, and they could not be more helpful & friendly.
>> Edited by soapbox on Wednesday 20th October 14:34
Damn - There goes my last reality check!
Now to book some test drives and find my beast.
In reply to a couple of Qs:-
I live in Richmond so there's no reason for buying from Fernhurst other than the fact they seem well respected and had a decent range of cars.
As far as the model I'm really not fussed. I like the idea of a 4.5 or even a 5 and could stretch my budget to £20k if the perfect car appeared but as a first TVR(and an upgrade from my Orion) perhaps a 4.0 Chimaera might be safest.
Colour wise... I'd love to go for something a bit different like Paradise Purple but will probably have to settle for something less extreme.
Either way... there should be a lot of fun ahead!
Thanks!
Phil
Now to book some test drives and find my beast.
In reply to a couple of Qs:-
I live in Richmond so there's no reason for buying from Fernhurst other than the fact they seem well respected and had a decent range of cars.
As far as the model I'm really not fussed. I like the idea of a 4.5 or even a 5 and could stretch my budget to £20k if the perfect car appeared but as a first TVR(and an upgrade from my Orion) perhaps a 4.0 Chimaera might be safest.
Colour wise... I'd love to go for something a bit different like Paradise Purple but will probably have to settle for something less extreme.
Either way... there should be a lot of fun ahead!
Thanks!
Phil
I did just under 25K a year I my 4.0 Chimp and it was brilliant. I only had a couple of problems with it and they were very minor.
Sadly I have just sold mine (to Fernies) but I will deffinately be getting another pretty soon and it will be from Fernhurst! They cant do enough and wont just tell you what you WANT to hear but what you NEED to hear! Top guys!
I would go for the 4.0 if its your first TVR because then you have scope to upgrade to the 4.5 or 5.0 later on! Once you have had a Chimp theres no going back (IMHO), and you want to be able to upgrade once in a while!
Sadly I have just sold mine (to Fernies) but I will deffinately be getting another pretty soon and it will be from Fernhurst! They cant do enough and wont just tell you what you WANT to hear but what you NEED to hear! Top guys!
I would go for the 4.0 if its your first TVR because then you have scope to upgrade to the 4.5 or 5.0 later on! Once you have had a Chimp theres no going back (IMHO), and you want to be able to upgrade once in a while!
Hi,
Picked up my first Chimaera (400) last Saturday, after upgrading from an Astra... Very surprised on the ease of driving (use it daily), especially in the wet - I did not expect it fell as solid as it does. Saying that, I am taking it very easily until I get used to the torque...
I would whole heartedly recommend them!!!
Tim
Picked up my first Chimaera (400) last Saturday, after upgrading from an Astra... Very surprised on the ease of driving (use it daily), especially in the wet - I did not expect it fell as solid as it does. Saying that, I am taking it very easily until I get used to the torque...
I would whole heartedly recommend them!!!
Tim
Got a Chim earlier in the summer. It lives outside (with a Leven Hood Cover) and takes me into work daily with the occasional long run.
To date I've only had a few glitches, but nothing that you wouldn't expect from any second hand car. The engine is fine, it's reliable and easy to drive.
After 3 months, it's doing fine and is everything I wanted. Hope I can still say that in 12 months!
To date I've only had a few glitches, but nothing that you wouldn't expect from any second hand car. The engine is fine, it's reliable and easy to drive.
After 3 months, it's doing fine and is everything I wanted. Hope I can still say that in 12 months!
stalker said:
no reason for buying from Fernhurst other than the fact they seem well respected and had a decent range of cars.
Don't forget Adrian Blyth too,just round the corner from fernies www.adrianblyth.co.uk/
>> Edited by pies on Wednesday 20th October 22:07
stalker said:
I DRIVE A CRAP CAR - 11yr old Ford Orion!
For 5 years I have considered upgrading to "decent" cars but have always put it off wanting to wait until I could afford a TVR and that time has come.
- I need a car that will be for daily use car(all through winter(rain, ice, snow).
- It would NOT be garaged(all through winter).
- I typically do about 15k miles a year.
Are there people out there that use a Chimaera as their main car and do 15k+ milage a year, all year round in a car that isn't garaged?
Am I being realistic or will I be making a big mistake?
For the record I will be spending about £15k buying a car from an main TVR dealer(probably Fernhurst).
Phil
A chim will happily do 15K+ miles p/a, but if you want to save some money, then consider keeping the Orion as a second car. Lowering the milage on the Chim will significantly reduce the running costs.
15K miles in a Chim will be not much short of £3000 p/a just for fuel. On top of that, you have 6000 mile servicing intervals and increased depreciation associated with high milage cars.
Don't get me wrong, i'm not saying don't get one. In fact, now you mentioned buying a Chim, you MUST get one,, its the Law!
having done much the same in mine i have to confirm that the costs associated, and the fact that it's a daily driver does make the whole thing a bit less, well, special.
do consider keeping the orion. it will take the urgency out of a situation if the worst does happen, and you can decide best course of action/save pennies if required.
you can also consider going for that jaunt with the club on sunday, rather than thinking 'nah - sod that, i've already done 300miles this week '.
if you want one, go get it, as i have thoughly enjoyed mine, don't regret a penny, you only live once, etc.
hope you get what you want
do consider keeping the orion. it will take the urgency out of a situation if the worst does happen, and you can decide best course of action/save pennies if required.
you can also consider going for that jaunt with the club on sunday, rather than thinking 'nah - sod that, i've already done 300miles this week '.
if you want one, go get it, as i have thoughly enjoyed mine, don't regret a penny, you only live once, etc.
hope you get what you want
Was using my chim as my everyday drive when I first got it, and was knocking up around 400-500 miles a week. The cost of petrol alone made me buy a banger to run as well. The chim took the milage fine and actually seemed to run better when used everyday, even in the snow!
I recently calculated the costs involved in running the Chim as amy daily drive again as I've reduced my milage and concluded that ignoring depreciation I would have to do less than 15k a year to make it viable. In short keep the Orion. The insurance difference on a TVR between a limited milage poicy and unlimited is huge.
I recently calculated the costs involved in running the Chim as amy daily drive again as I've reduced my milage and concluded that ignoring depreciation I would have to do less than 15k a year to make it viable. In short keep the Orion. The insurance difference on a TVR between a limited milage poicy and unlimited is huge.
I've been running a Starmist Blue Chim 400 since May, and have put 10k on it... (oops!)
Never garaged, always covered in cat-paw marks (little git) and driven each and every day. Trips are everything from going in and out of town (80mile round trip), or charging up and down motorways (London, Edingeyburgh, Munich, Paris).
Local TVRCC chaps thought I was utterly mad for running one everyday, but it's been consistently cheaper on fuel than my previous Jag XK8, is more comfortable to be in, and has been totally reliable. Until yesterday. Water pump gasket. Fizzle, dribble dribble, oh poo.
Still, these things happen!
On another note, I had an exhaust mod done, so the thing is now preposteruously loud, again to the despair of other members - "loud can be fun occasionally", "you must be nust for every day" etc, but it's been done well, so at a motorway cruise, wind noise is still more of an issue than engine/exhaust.
Crucially, I would have to disagree with one of the previous posts - it's no less special for driving it every day. Some of you chaps just get "the grin" at the weekend - my jaw aches all week!
The only caveat is sensibility - hopping from an Orion into a Chim is going to blow your mind. Unless you have acres of self-restraint, or a race licence, you're going to get it very very wrong at some point. We all have at least one "moment" before finally understanding quite what a beast a TVR is. I found that a few trackdays and instruction over the summer have made me far more confident and comfortable pressing on than before, despite having drived performance cars for several years.
It is worth starting around a 400 / 450, don't go beserk first time out. And buy on condition. I wanted a Halcyon Atlantis 450..... and I got a Starmist blue 400. Right price, right spec, concourse condition.
It can be done, no it ain't cheap, but be careful, be sensible, and you'll love every minute of it. I'm sitting here despondent this morning, not because she's broken down and needs money spending, but simply because she's not here to take me for a blast!
<witter mode off!>
Never garaged, always covered in cat-paw marks (little git) and driven each and every day. Trips are everything from going in and out of town (80mile round trip), or charging up and down motorways (London, Edingeyburgh, Munich, Paris).
Local TVRCC chaps thought I was utterly mad for running one everyday, but it's been consistently cheaper on fuel than my previous Jag XK8, is more comfortable to be in, and has been totally reliable. Until yesterday. Water pump gasket. Fizzle, dribble dribble, oh poo.
Still, these things happen! On another note, I had an exhaust mod done, so the thing is now preposteruously loud, again to the despair of other members - "loud can be fun occasionally", "you must be nust for every day" etc, but it's been done well, so at a motorway cruise, wind noise is still more of an issue than engine/exhaust.
Crucially, I would have to disagree with one of the previous posts - it's no less special for driving it every day. Some of you chaps just get "the grin" at the weekend - my jaw aches all week!
The only caveat is sensibility - hopping from an Orion into a Chim is going to blow your mind. Unless you have acres of self-restraint, or a race licence, you're going to get it very very wrong at some point. We all have at least one "moment" before finally understanding quite what a beast a TVR is. I found that a few trackdays and instruction over the summer have made me far more confident and comfortable pressing on than before, despite having drived performance cars for several years.
It is worth starting around a 400 / 450, don't go beserk first time out. And buy on condition. I wanted a Halcyon Atlantis 450..... and I got a Starmist blue 400. Right price, right spec, concourse condition.
It can be done, no it ain't cheap, but be careful, be sensible, and you'll love every minute of it. I'm sitting here despondent this morning, not because she's broken down and needs money spending, but simply because she's not here to take me for a blast!
<witter mode off!>
Thanks Richard.
The first time the mechanic started my car up to let me hear the difference I literally took two steps back and nearly ran for cover, convinced the four minute warning was up!
The I dropped by my parents on the way back, and my Dad stuck his fingers in his ears and asked if there was a hole in the exhaust. Another chap at a Stately Home gate enquired whether I had a drainpipe fitted in place of my exhaust!
A pal who races cars commented that it now sounds like a NASCAR racer turning over.... and the wife? She hasn't even noticed!
Yes, it's very antisocial. Utterly so. But then so is a standard exhaust. The mechanic described it very well - what it seems to do is change the nature of the sound, rather than just the overall volume. You lose just a little of the bassy rumble, and in exchange get a glorious raspy howl when you open her up. Plus ludicrous amounts of pop and crackle everytime you lift off.
Back in august, my parents could hear me coming from the opposite side of the village....
However, as a counter to all that, I have not had one single complaint. We live in a sleepy little village where people love to complain to the village council that so-and-so hasn't used the correct shade of Victorian Vermillon on their fence, or their Elizabethan gate posts are four micrometers too far to the left - and either everyone here is a TVR nut (unlikely) or they find it far less intrusive than the souped up motorbikes that scream down the bypass, or the MaxxxXXXed Novas/Saxos that come out for a razz around the country.
To be honest I'd put it down to the fact that it's remains a more cultured sound than that of the typical MaXers after-market wasp-in-a-biscuit-tin exhaust noise that most people either love it, or tolerate it, no one seems to actually mind it.
The best bit of it all, and the decider for me was that if I really couldn't cope with it, it could be reversed, and the whole exercise would have cost me £200 to try and change my mind - far more preferable to a £800 sports exhaust that then had to come off again....
And the grin is gone. Even now when I drive around I'm too busy cackling with maniacal laughter to grin! It's almost as if it doesn't matter a damn how a meeting has gone, or how tired I am - to sink into that seat, turn the key and hear the sleeping leviathan awaken is enough to calm and cheer me.
The first time the mechanic started my car up to let me hear the difference I literally took two steps back and nearly ran for cover, convinced the four minute warning was up!
The I dropped by my parents on the way back, and my Dad stuck his fingers in his ears and asked if there was a hole in the exhaust. Another chap at a Stately Home gate enquired whether I had a drainpipe fitted in place of my exhaust!
A pal who races cars commented that it now sounds like a NASCAR racer turning over.... and the wife? She hasn't even noticed!
Yes, it's very antisocial. Utterly so. But then so is a standard exhaust. The mechanic described it very well - what it seems to do is change the nature of the sound, rather than just the overall volume. You lose just a little of the bassy rumble, and in exchange get a glorious raspy howl when you open her up. Plus ludicrous amounts of pop and crackle everytime you lift off.
Back in august, my parents could hear me coming from the opposite side of the village....
However, as a counter to all that, I have not had one single complaint. We live in a sleepy little village where people love to complain to the village council that so-and-so hasn't used the correct shade of Victorian Vermillon on their fence, or their Elizabethan gate posts are four micrometers too far to the left - and either everyone here is a TVR nut (unlikely) or they find it far less intrusive than the souped up motorbikes that scream down the bypass, or the MaxxxXXXed Novas/Saxos that come out for a razz around the country.
To be honest I'd put it down to the fact that it's remains a more cultured sound than that of the typical MaXers after-market wasp-in-a-biscuit-tin exhaust noise that most people either love it, or tolerate it, no one seems to actually mind it.
The best bit of it all, and the decider for me was that if I really couldn't cope with it, it could be reversed, and the whole exercise would have cost me £200 to try and change my mind - far more preferable to a £800 sports exhaust that then had to come off again....
And the grin is gone. Even now when I drive around I'm too busy cackling with maniacal laughter to grin! It's almost as if it doesn't matter a damn how a meeting has gone, or how tired I am - to sink into that seat, turn the key and hear the sleeping leviathan awaken is enough to calm and cheer me.
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